LEUKEMIAS

With treatment for newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia remaining essentially unchanged over the last 4 decades, researchers are hopeful that the addition of the investigational agent vadastuximab talirine to standard 7+3 induction therapy may improve survival for these patients. 

TKIs can safely be stopped or dose-reduced without jeopardizing long-term outcomes for select patients with chronic myeloid leukemia who have obtained a major molecular response.

Anti-CD22 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy induced an 80% complete remission rate among children and young adults with relapsed/refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Miguel Perales, MD, deputy chief, Adult Bone Marrow Transplant Service, and director, Adult Bone Marrow Transplantation Fellowship Program, gives an overview of the PROGRESS II trial in acute leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome during the ASH Annual Meeting.

The FDA has granted a full approval and label update to ponatinib (Iclusig) for patients with chronic phase (CP), accelerated phase, or blast phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) or Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL).

The FDA has granted a priority review to the multikinase inhibitor midostaurin as a treatment for patients with newly-diagnosed&nbsp;<em>FLT3</em>-mutated acute myeloid leukemia or advanced systemic mastocytosis.

Immune checkpoint inhibitor development is progressing as treatments for patients with acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome, with a number of studies currently assessing new combination strategies.

Steven Coutre, MD,&nbsp;professor of medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, discusses the benefits and drawbacks of the different frontline treatment options for&nbsp;chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

Alessandra Ferrajoli, MD,&nbsp;discusses the challenge with secondary malignancies in patients with CLL.

William G. Wierda, MD, PhD, discusses&nbsp;provided his expert insight on the frontline treatment of patients with CLL.

Richard R. Furman, MD emphasizes that physicians should follow their best independent judgment regarding therapy selection in CLL, regardless of FDA approval.

The positive opinion for the BCL-2 inhibitor has been sent to the European Commission, which usually issues its final approval decision within 2 to 3 months of the CHMP recommendation.

Steve Coutre, MD, discusses how he determines which CLL treatment option is best for which patient, the advantage of treating patients with ibrutinib over chemoimmunotherapy, and new oral agents currently being investigated in the space.

William G. Wierda, MD, PhD,&nbsp;medical director of the Leukemia Center at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the management of CLL treatment in the frontline setting.

William G. Wierda, MD, PhD,&nbsp;discusses which groups of CLL patients may benefit from ibrutinib versus chemoimmunotherapy and clinical trials that may provide further clarification.

Jennifer Woyach, MD, offers her expert insight into the practical clinical use of CLL treatments.

Nitin Jain, MD, assistant professor, Department of Leukemia, Division of Cancer Medicine, MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the checkpoint inhibitors under investigation in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

Focusing primarily on the therapeutic categories of PI3K and BTK inhibitors, O&rsquo;Brien, associate director for clinical science at the Chao Comprehensive Cancer Center, acknowledged efforts to build on existing success but said the hoped-for progress and advances await definitive data.

Bruce Cheson, MD,&nbsp;outlines the treatment choices for each of the 3 patient categories of CLL, noting that, regardless of the treatment, &ldquo;a clinical trial is always the preferred option.&rdquo;

With a number of effective targeted therapies now available for patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms and chronic myeloid leukemia, patient selection for transplantation should rely heavily on prognostic scoring.

Naval Daver, MD, assistant professor, Department of Leukemia, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses agents being investigated in acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

Results from the phase Ib M13-365 study showed&nbsp;combining the BCL-2 inhibitor venetoclax (Venclexta) with the anti-CD20 agent rituximab (Rituxan) led to objective responses in 86% of patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

The FDA has approved ofatumumab (Arzerra) in combination with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide as a treatment for patients with relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The approval was based on an improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) in the phase III COMPLEMENT-2 study.

Two-thirds of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia who ceased to receive the TKI treatment imatinib did not relapse after six months, according to Johan Richter, MD, PhD.

Blinatumomab almost doubles the overall survival of patients with relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia, according to Max Topp, MD.